Just a quick announcement that I will be at the annual Epping Twilight Markets again this year; details as follows –

Location: Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic School, Epping

Entrance: Cambridge or Oxford Streets, Epping

Date: Friday 9 November 2018

Time: 5 pm – 9 pm

You can find out more about it at http://eppingmarkets.com.au/.

I’ve been trading at Epping Twilight Markets since its inception some 10 years ago, back when it used to be a monthly Friday market.  There was a minor hiccup re: my participation this year when the “Noah” issue came up (as with my previous experiences with all my other markets, someone complained to the school committee after seeing him in his cot outside my stall last year), but this has now been resolved.

I look forward to seeing you that Friday; I’ll likely be cooking only Char Kway Teow because of staffing issues, though if you’ve ordered curry pastes from me you’ll be able to collect them at the stall that evening.

Finally, if you’re a Concord Hospital Market regular, you’ll know the market has been suspended for the last two and a half months due to construction work on the hospital grounds; I’ve just had a meeting with the Concord Hospital marketing department and things are looking promising for us to be back there sooner rather than later, so keep your eyes peeled for my announcement about its resumption on my social media accounts.

Thank you all for your continued support

Jackie M.

The post Epping Twilight Markets – Friday 9 November 2018 first appeared on Jackie M..

The pack I received was from their Australia’s First Families of Wine Favourites Mixed Collection, and this has given me the perfect opportunity to finally research and write about matching Asian food with wine.

I’m new to wine consumption, so I first hit up the product team at Wine Selectors for help; I was told the following from the pack are great across-the-board wines to pair with Asian food –

• Henschke Riesling
• De Bortoli Pinot Noir
• Yalumba Grenache
• Tyrrell’s Shiraz

Using that as my starting point, I further read up on some broad guidelines about the types of wine that work best with specific Asian cooking styles and ingredients.

I’ve collated all the information and compiled it below for your easy reference; next to each bottle of wine, I’ve made hypothetical pairings with some of my favourite Asian-style dishes, the recipes for most of which can be found on this website.

1. Brown Brothers Limited Release Tempranillo Graciano 2016
   Smooth and silken, flavour-laden and spicy with layers of black, blue, red and purple fruits, spicy, lively acidity and fine tannin persistence.
   Pairing suggestions: Vietnamese Grilled Beef Rolls, Khmer Beef Lok Lak
2. Campbells Limited Release Durif 2015
   Dense, dark and full-bodied with a brooding mix of currant, prune and anise characters along with a beautifully balanced texture and mouth-feel.
   Pairing suggestions: Thai Crying Tiger, Lao Grilled Ox Tongue
3. d’Arenberg The Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2013
   Mouth-filling, silken richness with a deep, chocolatey core, velvety flavours and great structure. It shows Rhône-like power and although dense, retains elegance and delicacy.
   Pairing suggestions: Peking Duck, Crispy Shredded Beef
4. The Barry Bros by Jim Barry Shiraz Cabernet 2016
   Powerful yet with a degree of elegance, it has a strong mix of black fruits, fine touches of spice and crushed leaf, fine tannin depth and drive and plum pudding-like persistence.
   Pairing suggestions: Malaysian Chicken Curry, Malaysian Lamb Curry
5. Mc. W Reserve 660 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2017
   Beautifully textured, savoury and layered with a refined yet intense core of fruit, zesty acidity and perfectly-judged oak in support.
   Pairing suggestions: Indonesian Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken), Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken)
6. Tahbilk Museum Release Marsanne 2011
   Waxy-soft with sublime, mouth-filling flavour and beautiful umami.
   Pairing suggestions: Butter Prawns, Poached Prawn & Chicken Dumplings (Sui Gow)
7. De Bortoli Villages Pinot Noir 2017
   Quite deep and textural with earth and truffle complexity and light vanillin oak. Displays distinct Pinot character and charm with the potential for further development.
   Pairing suggestions: Beef Rendang, Satay, Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Mushrooms
8. Henschke Peggy’s Hill Riesling 2016
   Richly flavoured showing quince, grapefruit and subtle honey flavours, crisp, minerally acidity and a generous finish.
   Pairing suggestions: Thai Grilled Cuttlefish, Malaysian Otak-Otak (Spicy Grilled Fishcakes)
9. Howard Park Miamup Sauvignon Blanc 2017
   Unmistakeably varietal with very strong herbaceous notes adding to the rich core of fruits balanced by minerally acidity and finishing with lingering tropical fruit persistence.
   Pairing suggestions: Ayam Percik (Malay Grilled Chicken), Chinese Steamed Fish
10. Taylors TWP Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
    Full-bodied and youthful with a rich and super-ripe sweet core of black fruit, lovely texture and silken tannin depth. Secondary development is starting to appear as cassis, leather and tobacco.
    Pairing suggestion: Pressure-cooked Roast Lamb Shoulder
11. Tyrell’s Hunter Valley Shiraz 2016
    A solid core of red and black fruit characters along with loads of white and black pepper, complemented by touches of cocoa and bay leaf, medium density tannins and well-judged oak.
    Pairing suggestions: Malaysian Lamb Curry, Chicken Rendang
12. Yalumba Old Bush Vine Grenache 2016
    Deliciously round and jubey with high octane richness providing loads of velvety softness and persistence.
    Pairing suggestions: Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Mutton Curry

Over the next several weeks, I will be featuring some of these dishes and wines in my Twitch Live Asian Kitchen, so if you’ve always been interested in the topic of wine pairing, tune on Twitch at www.JackieM.Live; my current schedule is as follows (Sydney time; GMT+10) –

• Monday – 12pm
• Wednesday – 2pm
• Friday – 6pm

Make sure you click on Follow at www.JackieM.Live and have the Notifications tab turned ON if you want to be notified when I’m livestreaming, so you can watch and interact with me live during the broadcasts.

To find out more about the Australia’s First Families of Wine Favourites Mixed Collection featured in this post, visit https://www.wineselectors.com.au/product/australia-s-first-families-of-wines-favourites-mixed-collection/184001

(The pack was sent by Wine Selectors in exchange for my review, so if you have any wine-matching suggestions to add, let me know and I’ll amend this post to reflect your input.)

The post Matching Australian Wines With Asian Food first appeared on Jackie M..

This, folks, represents my culinary raison d’être – the world famous Seremban Beef Noodles, otherwise known (in Cantonese) as Ngau Lam Fun; one of countless childhood memories that finally lured me away from IT consultancy and into food full-time some 17 years ago. To expand on that a little, the reason I got into this “food thing” was partly to recreate the food of my years of growing up in Malaysia, and partly to preserve street food recipes that run the risk of getting lost with the passing of the old guard.

Seremban wasn’t much more than a sleepy former mining town back in the day, but this dish (along with Seremban Siew Pao – baked buns), sold at the Pasar Besar Seremban (wet market) brought travellers from as far away as Singapore to savour it. For years, there was talk about people persistently offering large sums of money to the stall owner for the recipe, only to get persistently rebuffed.

This is where I step in – well, actually my stepmom – she was the one who hacked the recipe after we moved to Australia, and I ended up adding it to my restaurant menu (if you don’t know my backstory – no, I no longer own a restaurant; I gave it up in 2013 to look after my severely disabled baby, Noah).

Recipe below involves a degree of guesstimating (agak-agak) because, well, that’s how I roll.

Seremban Beef Noodles

INGREDIENTS:

3kg beef bones
1kg chicken bones
5L water

Meat marinade –

2kg beef brisket, cut into 2” strips
2 Tbsps sesame oil
2 Tbsps thick soy
2 ½ Tbsps chicken stock granules
2 tsps five spice powder
80ml light soy
2 TBS cooking wine
150mls sugar
1 Tbsp ground pepper
1 cup water

Sauce 1 –

1/3 cup oil
2 Tbsps garlic
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsps chicken powder
3 Tbsps water + 3 Tbsps tapioca flour (optional)
Meat marinade from pressure cooker

Sauce 2 –

2 Tbsps oil
1 Tbsp garlic
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 ½ Tbsps chicken stock granules
½ TBS pepper
1L beef stock
4 Tbsps tapioca flour + 4 Tbsps water

Tapioca rice noodles
Salted mustard leaves
Peanuts, skin on – roasted or deep-fried
Sesame seeds, roasted
Coriander leaves and spring onion for garnishing

METHOD:

1. Make beef stock by simmering beef and chicken bones for at least 2-3 hours.
2. Combine beef brisket with marinade ingredients; pressure cook until tender.
3. To make sauce 1 (dark sauce), heat oil, then add garlic and saute.
4. Add beef and meat marinade from pressure cooker.
5. Add sugar and chicken powder, simmer until thickened.
6. Add tapioca starch & water mixture to thicken further, if necessary.
7. Remove beef and allow to cool, then slice.
8. To make sauce 2 (light sauce), heat oil, then add garlic and saute, followed by oyster sauce.
9. Add beef stock, chicken powder and pepper and bring to a simmer.
10. Thicken with tapioca starch & water mixture.
11. Separately blanch tapioca rice noodles (aka rice spaghetti), then serve topped with beef slices, both sauces, salted mustard leaves, roasted peanuts and sesame seeds.
12. Serve with a side of beef soup made by seasoning beef stock with a sprinkling of chicken powder and white pepper.

My Live Asian Kitchen is made possible with the support of the following –

The post How to Make Seremban Beef Noodles (Ngau Lam Fun) first appeared on Jackie M..

Folks, I’m very proud to present the first how-to video from my Wok Around Asia project, and it’s appropriately on Char Koay Teow (or Char Kway Teow), one of the most popular dishes from Malaysia’s street food capital of Penang. It’s different from my own version (mine is closer to what you would find in the southern part of the Malaysian peninsula, where I was raised), and it does not contain pork, which is fabulous for a non-pork eater like myself.

I’ve left the recipe format largely unaltered from what was given to me by Parkroyal Penang Resort, so we don’t lose too much in the translation, but by all means hit me up if you have any questions about any of it.

Here’s the video showing the stir-fry process from start to finish, which I think is crucial to capturing the technique in this dish. As a cook and former restaurateur, I target those who are serious about learning the craft of cooking, so if this sounds like you, enjoy the video and the recipe that follows

PENANG CHAR KOAY TEOW

CKT SAUCE

LIGHT SOYA SAUCE 500ml
SUGAR 4 tsps
FISH SAUCE 4 Tbsps
OYSTER SAUCE 3 Tbsps
DARK SOYA SAUCE (aka thick soya sauce, aka cooking caramel) 2 Tbsps

METHOD:

In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients together, then mix well.

INGREDIENTS:

FLAT WHITE RICE NOODLES 600g
GARLIC CHOPPED 20g
COOKING OIL 100ml
PRAWN MEAT 120g
CHILLI PASTE 20g
KOAY TEOW SAUCE 120g
BEAN SPROUTS 80g
CHIVES 40g
EGGS 4
CORIANDER (GARNISH) 20g
CHILLI FLOWER 4 pcs
FRESHWATER PRAWN 1 pc
SCALLOP 2 pcs
CUTTLEFISH 3 pcs

METHOD:
Heat the cooking oil in the wok and sauté chopped garlic until light brown then add in prawns, chili paste and flat noodles.
Add koay teow sauce and stir-fry until sauce is absorbed. Lastly, add in eggs, beansprouts and chives. Garnish with coriander leaf and red chili flower.

My Wok Around Asia project is made possible through the support of the following >>

The post How to Cook Penang Char Koay Teow first appeared on Jackie M..

If you’ve followed my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts for any length of time, you would know that the term sambal belacan” (shrimp paste sambal) covers a number of different chilli dips – there’s raw sambal belacan which consists of pounding chillies with toasted shrimp paste, some seasoning plus a dash of fresh lime juice – popular in Malay and Nyonya dishes – and then there’s the fried variety used in Chinese-inspired recipes like Har Meen (prawn noodle soup).

The sambal belacan I make and sell at the markets is actually a sweeter version of the latter, which works for the Char Kway Teow (fried rice noodles) it’s served with. The recipe for that is located here >> How to Make Sambal Belacan.

For personal consumption however, I prefer the more savoury version, per in this broadcast; I try to make sure I always have a jar of it in my fridge –

Sambal Belacan for Har Meen (Prawn Noodle Soup)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups chillies, cut into chunks
• 6 bird’s eye chillies (optional)
• 1 ½ onions
• 2 Tbsp belacan powder (or equivalent if using Thai shrimp paste or Malaysian/Indonesian shrimp paste blocks)
• 1 ½ tsp sugar (optional, if you’re really hardcore low-carb, or feel free to replace with coconut sugar, etc.)
• 2 Tbsp soya sauce or fish sauce
• ½ Tbsp chicken powder (optional)
• ½ cup oil

METHOD:

1. Blend chillies and onions to desired consistency.
2. Heat oil in frying pan. Add chilli/onion puree and all other ingredients and cook until oil separates and onion is aromatic – approximately 15-20 minutes.
3. Allow to cool, then store in glass jar. Sambal will keep in fridge for 6 weeks or in freezer for 6 months.

The post How to Make Sambal for Prawn Noodle Soup (Har Meen) (Low-Carb) first appeared on Jackie M..

The reverse is also true – some ingredients with the same name actually mean different things in different countries. This is one example – Vietnamese Saté Sauce – which is a chilli dip you eat with Pho but which also goes well with pretty much anything.

It bears no resemblance to Malaysian satay sauce, which is made with crushed peanuts and served with grilled meat on skewers.

I’m excited to announce that I’ve got 4 sets of 6 SatéBoyz sauces (3 hot and 3 mild) to offer to my Live Asian Kitchen viewers during November 2017; all you need to do is to follow me at Twitch.tv/JackieMFood for your name to go in the draw.

This is a newly-released product range and it’s made right here in Australia. Here’s my Instagram video showcasing the jars with the guys behind the SatéBoyz brand – Joey, Terry and Collins.

Introducing the SateBoyz Giveaways running through the month of November on my Live Asian Kitchen – 4 sets of 6 Vietnamese Sate Sauce (3 hot and 3 mild). Also, the SateBoyz themselves are in this clip – from R to L – Collins, Terry and Joey (owner of Me Oi). And next to me is Tania Strange, my sometime co-host. Make sure you follow me at www.JackieM.Live for your chance to win one of these boxes AND to catch my free Live cooking lessons www.JackieM.Live broadcasts 4x a week (Sydney time) Mon 12pm | Wed 5pm | Fri 6pm | Sat 10pm #food #foodshare #foodie #foodlover #foodporn #foodgasm #foodstagram #getinmybelly #instaeat #sharefood #instafood #devourpower #foodblog #EEEEEATS #huffposttaste #tastespotting #foodgawker #instayum #buzzfeedfood #foodcoma #foodforfoodies #nomnomnom #foodieforlife #homecooking #DifferentIsBetter #LenovoIN #twitchcreative #twitch #irl #socialeating @sateboyz @phomeoi @stranger_than_you

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Nov 6, 2017 at 1:03pm PST

Joey happens to be the owner of Me Oi Vietnamese Restaurant based in Strathfield, which serves some of the best Pho in Sydney. It was the constant pilfering by customers of the restaurant’s saté sauce that made these guys realise that they have a winning product on their hands. That was how SatéBoyz was born; they’re ready to take on the world and you would be one of the first to try their products, so don’t miss out.

Here’s the replay of a special “social eating” (yes, it’s a “thing”) broadcast, brought to you from Me Oi Restaurant >>

Here’s an example of a Jackie M dish served with a topping of SatéBoyz chilli sauce –

Click on this image to visit and follow my Twitch channel (it’s free!) >>

And here is a sampling of the food from Me Oi >>

ME OI

Strathfield
4/41 The Boulevarde
Strathfield NSW 2135
02 9746 9026

TRADING HOURS:

Every Day
10am — 10pm

The post SatéBoyz Giveaways and Me Oi Vietnamese Restaurant first appeared on Jackie M..

Since I don’t eat pork, I’ve never actually eaten it. I’m not exactly going in blind however; I grew up seeing what it looks like and how it smells etc.

Here’s my Twitch broadcast where I used chicken mince and also made the noodles from scratch >>

Hakka Noodle Mince

INGREDIENTS:

500g chicken mince

5 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup mushrooms, diced (preferably reconstituted dried Chinese mushrooms)

⅓ cup oil

2 Tbsps sesame oil

1 Tbsp chicken powder

½ Tbsp fish sauce

2 Tbsps oyster sauce

1 tsp white pepper

⅔ cup water

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in pan, then add garlic and saute until aromatic.
2. Add chicken mince and diced mushrooms; break up the chicken mince while stirring.
3. Add seasoning ingredients and mix well.
4. Add water and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
5. Mix with separately-blanched noodles and serve hot with sliced preserved green chillies & soya sauce.

Hakka Noodles

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups strong flour

1 tsp lye water

1 tsp salt

⅔ cup water

METHOD:

1. Combine ingredients in a dough mixer and knead well. You may need to transfer onto a flat surface and finish kneading if the dough doesn’t come together in the dough mixer.
2. Rest for 1 hour, covered.
3. Cut into small pieces then roll into thin sheets using pasta roller, starting with the largest setting and gradually working to the thinnest.
4. Cut into ⅔ cm wide strips and cook in salted boiling water until they float to the surface.
5. Remove with sieve and serve with the chicken mince.

The post How to Make Seremban Hakka Noodles (Non-Pork Version) first appeared on Jackie M..

I sort of split the difference in this broadcast where I retained the use of hearty chunks of beef brisket found in the Malaysian version, but seasoned the soup with some of the spices you would more likely find in a pot of pho – namely star anise and cloves (I would have added a cinnamon stick but for the fact I had none in my pantry).

Beef Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS:

Beef Soup –

1kg beef brisket, cut into large cubes
1kg beef bones
2L chicken stock
Water to take volume to 6L
½ onion
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 star anises
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
1” piece of ginger
2 tsps sugar
2 Tbsp chicken powder
Dash of white pepper

Separately blanch –

Noodles (usually fresh rice noodles aka hor fun)
Beansprouts
Asian greens

Optional –

Crispy fried shallots
Herbs
Chilli sauce or soya sauce + sliced chillies

METHOD:

1. Combine soup ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for about 2-3 hours or until the brisket is very tender and the soup is flavoursome. Adjust seasoning as required.
2. Add more water as required during cooking, to maintain the overall volume at about 6L (ie. liquids + bones + meat).
3. FYI I used a pressure cooker – the Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro and it was done in under 45 minutes.
4. Place separately-blanched noodles and veggies in a bowl and fill with soup and beef chunks.

Visit www.prestigehomeappliances.com.au for more information about the Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro used in this recipe.

Click here for the Crispy Fried Onions from this broadcast >> http://jackiem.com.au/2016/12/16/how-to-make-crispy-fried-onions/

The post How to Cook Beef Noodle Soup first appeared on Jackie M..

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Crispy Noodles – The sauce in this recipe is closer to what you’ll get when ordering crispy noodles (aka Crispy Noodles with Combination Seafood etc.) in a Vietnamese or Chinese restaurant; replace oyster sauce with soya (yellow) bean sauce and it’ll resemble the lad na (rad na) found in Thai restaurants.

Crispy Noodles with Combination Seafood

INGREDIENTS:

200g fresh wonton noodles
1 cup Choy Sum, cut into 3-inch lengths
2 cups stock or water
½ Tbsp chicken powder
½ Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp potato starch or tapioca starch + 2 Tbsps water
1 tsp minced garlic
Mix of seafood or sliced meats
Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Heat oil to 180°C; if oil is deep enough you may use a basket or similar to arrange noodles so it forms a cake. Otherwise drop batches of noodles into the oil to fry until they puff up and the bubbles begin to dissipate.
2. Remove and allow to cool, then arrange on serving plate.
3. Heat ½ Tbsp oil, add garlic and saute until aromatic; add seafood/meat slices followed by oyster sauce and Choy Sum.
4. Add stock/water, chicken powder, pepper and fish sauce.
5. Bring to a low simmer, then thicken with tapioca starch + water mix.
6. Pour hot sauce over noodles to serve.

Click here for Wonton Noodles recipe > http://jackiem.com.au/2015/10/01/how-to-cook-wantan-mee-with-chicken-char-siew-and-sui-gow/

Click here for Fried Sui Gow recipe >> http://jackiem.com.au/2017/06/07/make-sui-gow-serunding-fried-fish-balls/

The post How to Cook Thin Egg Noodles 2 Different Ways first appeared on Jackie M..

Char Kway Teow

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce –

200ml soya sauce
1 cup sugar
50ml fish sauce
4 Tbsps chicken powder
1 Tbsp cooking caramel (thick soya sauce)
¼ cup water

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 8 weeks.

Noodles –

250g fresh rice noodles
1 ½ Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp chilli paste (from soaked and blended dried chillies) – optional
¼ cup seafood, fish cake slices etc.
1 ½ Tbsp CKT sauce
1 egg
Small bunch of garlic chives, cut into 2-inch lengths
Small bunch of beansprouts

METHOD:

1. Heat half the oil in wok until smoking. Add noodles and scorch.
2. Add garlic and fry until aromatic.
3. Add seafood and any other accompaniments. Add chilli paste if using.
4. Drizzle about a teaspoon of the sauce at a time and mix well.
5. Make sure sauce is absorbed before you add more.
6. Crack egg into noodles and fold. Turn off heat and add beansprouts and chives and mix well.
7. Remove and serve.

The post How to Cook Char Kway Teow first appeared on Jackie M..